Sunday, July 26, 2015

"A few weeks ago, in the country, far from the lights of the city, I saw the entire sky “powdered with stars” (in Milton’s words); such a sky, I imagined, could be seen only on high, dry plateaus like that of Atacama in Chile (where some of the world’s most powerful telescopes are). It was this celestial splendor that suddenly made me realize how little time, how little life, I had left. My sense of the heavens’ beauty, of eternity, was inseparably mixed for me with a sense of transience — and death.

I told my friends Kate and Allen, “I would like to see such a sky again when I am dying.”

“We’ll wheel you outside,” they said.

I have been comforted, since I wrote in February about having metastatic cancer, by the hundreds of letters I have received, the expressions of love and appreciation, and the sense that (despite everything) I may have lived a good and useful life. I remain very glad and grateful for all this — yet none of it hits me as did that night sky full of stars."

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The New Horizons spacecraft is finally close enough to Pluto for its size to be accurately determined: 1,473 miles or 2,370 km in diameter. It is the largest object in the Kuiper Belt, the region of our solar system beyond the planet Neptune. Will this be enough to promote it back to planet from dwarf-planet status? Only time will tell, as it requires a vote of the International Astronomical Union, which demoted the diminutive planet to dwarf-planet status in 2006. Stay tuned and watch for updates from the New Horizons Mission as the satellite flies past Pluto in its closest approach today, July 14, 2005.

Pluto (right) and its largest moon Charon as New Horizons satellite approaches the system.

Popular Hikes Around Mitzpe Ramon

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Moon Phase

Israel Light Pollution Map

Why your next star gazing tour should be in Mitzpe Ramon

"A full appreciation of the universe cannot come without developing the skills to find things in the sky and understanding how the sky works. This knowledge comes only by spending time under the stars with star maps in hand." -- Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer, The Backyard Astronomer's Guide

Current Solar System

Copyright Notice

Observing Conditions

The number of clear nights (zero cloudiness) is about 170 a year. The number of useful nights is about 240. The best season, when practically no clouds are observed, is June to August, while the highest chance for clouds are in the period January to April. Winds are usually moderate mainly from North-East and North. Storm wind velocities (greater than 40 km/h) occur, but rarely. The wind speed tends to decrease during the night. Temperature gradients are small and fairly moderate. The average relative humidity is quite high with a tendency to decline during the night from April to August.

The average seeing is about 2-3 seconds of arc. A few good nights have seeing of 1" or less while some show seeing larger than 5".